We made our own power for 5 years - it's no fun. Whatever means you use to make the power is not the difficult part. The hassle comes to the issue of storing power you make. This is a ife-style that requires time, attention, money and patience. Batteries will cost a significant amount - we spent $6,000 on them, and were not able to have sufficient power for an electric frig.
When you live out of power range, you are generally farther from shops and that means that you need to store more food, not less. Ergo the size of your freezer becomes important. Propane friges do not last very long, are expensive and small.
Passive Solar water heating is easy- get a black water tank, mount it on the roof - fill it periodically and the sun will make the water hot.